Electrotherapeutic apparatus



Dec. 28, 1937. E. WEISSENBERG ELECTROTHERAPEUTIC APPARATUS Filed April 4, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet l Fig. 1

Fig.3

Dec. 28, 1937. E. WEISSENBERG ELECTROTHERAPEUTIC APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 4, 1934 Fig. 1-

Dec. 28, 1937. E WEISSEIQBERG I I ,1

' ELECTROfI-IERAPEUTIC APPARATUS Filed April 4, 1934 '3 Sheets-Sheet 5v Fig. 7.

Patented Dec. 28, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT- OFFICE 2,103,440 ELECTROTHEWEUTIC APPARATUS Eugen Weissenberg, Vienna, Austria Ap lication April 4, 1934, Serial No. 119,009 l I In Austria July 15. 19:2 a

Claims.

This invention relates to new and improved electro-therapeutic apparatus, operating with high frequency alternating fields, Y for example with short waves. It is a known fact that with 6 a large variety of lesions and disorders valuable therapeutic effects can be obtained by treatment in a high frequency alternating field, for example by treatment with short waves, provided sufficiently large quantities of energy are brought 10 to bear. The aim in this connection has hitherto been primarily to turn to account therapeutically the heat oi resistance (Joule heat) set up in the body by the current, and since the thermal equivalent is vepy high it has been found necessary to work with {relatively high generator output (about 1.5 kw.). It has been a further aim hitherto, to increase as far as possible the amount of energy administered tothe patient, which has led to the constant development of apparatus of greater and greater emitting power, and to the principle of carrying out the treatment in the region of maximum energy, that is to say in the condenser field or in the coil field.

The types oi. treatment of this description I which have as yet become known are attended by a number of serious drawbacks. In the first place, the apparatus used is very cumbrous and costly, so that the practitioner has heavy initial expenses to bear, the operation of the apparatus is expensive, in consequence of the high current consumption, and dangerous in view of the high tension current used. To these drawbacks there I, must'be added the further disadvantage that, in

consequence of the lack of a reliable method of '35 measuring the amount of energy administered,

the danger of injury to the patient through overdosing cannot be obviated with certainty. The

use of therapeutic appliances of the known kind is practically contingent upon the reservation for 40 this purpose of a special room, and in view of the danger involved, upon the employment of specially-trained assistants for the administering or the treatment. The amortization of the heavy initial costs and running expenses is dif- 4 ficult of achievement, since it is not possible to irradiate more than one person at a time in the condenser or coil field. Finally, a still further drawback of the known types of apparatus consistsin the iact that a large proportion of the 50 energy emitted goes to waste, and that this uselessly dispersed energy causes annoyance by interfering with wireless reception. The elimination of this latter objection is only possibleat great expense, and with serious detriment to. the 66 eiiectiveness or the apparatus.

(cl. ice-1.3)

The present invention has taken an entirely new course for the purpose in view, and has succeeded not only in overcoming these draw-' backs of existing methods of treatment, but in' addition in widening the scope or the treatment 5 concerned, and in providing new spheres of application for treatment of this kind. The course adopted is founded on the knowledge, acquired as the result of many'years of clinical experiment, that nerves (and more particularly dis- 10 eased and disordered nerves) react to-the influenceof a .very small, fraction, say 1/1000, of the amount of electro-magnetic energy "usually administered, and that this reaction. is in'many respects specifically difierent from that brought 15 about by irradiation with the usual large amounts of energy, provided that the particular measures constituting this invention be observed. The chief of these measures are, in the first place the carrying out of the irradiation in the field of 20 the free advancing electro-magnetic waves (instead of "the condenser or coil field), and in the second place arranging for adequate inhomoge neity of the strength of the field in the region occupied by the irradiated body. The specific 25 afiects obtainable will first be discussed in the light of a few examples, after which the new inventive steps. based on the above-mentioned discovery, will be defined and characterized.

With certain nervous disorders, more particu- 30 larly with disturbances of the vegetative and sensory nervous system, {the irradiation, as commonly practised; has no"'ameliorative effect, but on the contrary often causes violent attacks or pain and convulsion, which even occur partly during the irradiation. If the amount of energy applied be reduced the unfavorable reaction becomes as a rule less pronounced. Over and above this observed efiect, a novel result, specific to and characteristic of the method according to the present invention, namely rapid alleviation of pain and spasms and continued improvement of the symptoms of disorder, is obtained it the irradiation be carried out, in accordance with the present invention, with very slight amounts of energy and, in a manner to be described in due course, in the field of the free advancing waves and in an adequately inhomogeneous field. The new effect is also distinguishable from the sedative action exerted by the application of heat 5 however eilfected (hot compresses, diathermic treatment, and the like) in that this effect is achieved by means of the slight amounts of en- I ergyapplied in accordance with the invention, without the production of any heat at all. This when used on diseased or disordered nerves, is possibly due to the fact that nerve fibres react in general to relatively very slight electric stimuli, and that the small amounts of energy employed in accordance with the invention are approximately 01' the same order of magnitude as the currents due to action in the tissues of the body, the inhomogeneity of the field strength being favorable to the occurrence of the therapeutically eifectiveelectric stimuli. v s r The applicability of the new method of treatment is by no means confined to the cases indicated above, which are only mentioned by way of example. The nerves admittedly control the entire biological processes in the organism, and by influencing the nerve tissue a'therapeutic effect can therefore be exercised indirectly upon a great variety of lesions and disorders.

The discoveries of a medical nature outlined above open the way for the devising of new technical measures and means with the aid of which the above-described favorable therapeutic effects can be achieved. y

The present invention is distinguishable from the known methods and from the apparatus required for the carrying out of these methods more particularly by the fact that the apparatus according to the present invention provides for the generation of an electromagnetic alternating field having an adequately low energy density coupled with an adequately high degree of inhomogeneity. The adequately low energy density is provided for either by making the apparatus in the form 01 asmall scale wave-sender constructed as a safety set which, either with selfexcitation or with extraneous control, emits the electro-magnetic waves, or by utilizing the free advancing electro-magnetic waves hitherto emitted to no purposeby the large capacity senders used for therapeutic purposes. The required high degree of inhomogeneity in the strength 01 the field is achieved, with the aid of the'means provided inaccordance-with the invention, either 7 treatment mainly in the free space occupied by by producing inhomogeneity by additional measures, in an existing substantially homogeneous electro-magnetic field, or intensifying existing inhomogeneity, or by generating an initially highly inhomogeneous field by means of suitable apparatus.

I In the present connection, the term "inhomogeneity is to be taken as meaning diversity of field strength within the space occupied by the object of treatment, the arrangement according to the invention being designed to render it possible for the diversity of field strength within the space concerned to be increased to a maximum. By virtue of this maximum diversity of field strength, that is to say, for example, of very sudden drops in the strength of the field from one region to another of the field, there occur in the subject of the treatment dlfierences of potential which give rise to therapeutic action.

The present invention also deviates fundamentally from the methods hitherto adopted, which "are based on the principle of irradiating in the electric condenser or coil field, by effecting the electro-magnetic oscillations, and more particularly in the field of the free advancing electromagnetic waves. In accordance with the invention the new method of treatment can be carspecific effect of the new method of treatment,

small scale wave-sender in the form of a safety set which can be plugged into any ordinary main of a voltage up to about 500 volts. The set is preferably totally enclosed in a casing of insulating material, the energy being emitted by radiating elements situated within the casing.

In this case the required inhomogeneity is ensured by the arrangement that the space occupied by the field produced by the small capacity sender is slight in comparison with that occupied by the object or treatment. The great differences in field strength present in this field thus become fully eifective within the range of the space occupied by the object of treatment. The adequately low energy density of the field, and with it the safety (absence of danger), is ensured by so dimensioning the individual parts of the small capacity sender that the energy emitted cannot exceed a predetermined limit which is set so low that the possibility of inflicting injury to patients through overdosing, is precluded. In this way also the disturbing of wireless reception in the neighbourhood of the apparatus is likewise eflectually prevented.

(b) The use of a high frequency alternating field derived from an extraneously controlled sender operated by voltages transmitted from a manner, without the variation of their number,

size,-shape, and arrangement exerting any appreciable reactive effect upon the total output consumption of the set, so that these conductors are capable of supplying. the energy, dosed both as to quantity and as to quality, to one or more patients simultaneously.

. In the latter case there iseifected by the conductors a concentration or an inhomogeneous distortion of the initially homogeneous or approximately homogeneous field, and the field r strength distribution is so influenced that, field strengths varying very greatly in magnitude are brought to bear upon the object of treatment.

A particular advantage of the last-described arrangement is the possibility which it aifords of treating a large number of patients simultaneously, and at the same time of varying the doses of energy administered to the patients individually. As a further result of the independence of the conductors from the sender it becomes posslble to'carry out.treatment from a distance, and to administer treatment for example, to patients who are confined to bed 'or who are incapable of being transported, from a remote central apparatus. The distances at which treatment can thus be carried out with a therapeutic field obtainable with the usual sender outputs, are very considerable.

The employment of the advancing electromagnetic waves in accordance with the invention also provides the possibility of utilizing optical means to obtain certain directional and remote effects, by interference, reflection, polarization,beaming, and the like.

Janoauc radiating apparatus, such as light or heat radia-- tors, for the obtaining of combined effects.

Finally, it is worthy of mention that the new method of treatment permits of the utilization for therapeutic purposes of ranges of frequency which have not hitherto been utilizable for such purposes, or only with great diii'lculty and with the use of very high outputanamely the ultrashort wave ranges.

" ranges of frequency which are particularly readily influencedby interferehc'ze'jQand which afford very definite advantages when turned to account therapeutically.

Attempts have hitherto been made to obviate the danger of injury to the patient by overdosing, when the usual types of apparatus are used and the treatment carried out in the condenser or coil field, by reducing the amount of energy expended in the treatment to such an extent that no appreciable heat development takes place. However, the conditions provided by the present invention, namely a held of suiliciently low energy density and at the same time of great inhomogeneity within the space occupied by the object of treatment, can not be realized in this manner. I

The other advantages enumerated above, such as the possibility of group treatment, and other advantages, cannot be obtained either by the employment or development of this method.

Examples of apparatus for the carryingout of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows, in perspective view. a therapeutic set according to the invention, in the form of a small scale wave-sender mounted on a stand.

Fig. 2 is a diagramof connections for a pusha ,pull arrangement of the wave-sender.

ebonite, synthetic resin, or the like, and is attached, in the example shown in Fig. l, to an arm 2 which is universally adjustable about a ball joint 3, and which is mounted on a stand I The arm 2 is vertically adjustable by means of the sleeve 5, on the column of the stand, and can be fixed in any 'desired-, position by means of the set-screw 6, so that the apparatus can be readily brought up to thepart to be treated. The current supply to the sender I is by means of a flexible cable 9 having a plug Iii for connection to a receptacle ll of an electric lighting main. The casing I is provided witha handle a i2 to facilitate manipulation and transportation.

The casing is preferably totally enclosed and merely provided with a few small ventilation A? ,holes for the cooling f the w valves But it is precisely theseage transformer,

A measuring instrument I enables the oscillation to be checked. This instrument can also be replaced by a small -lamp or neon tube. The

sender radiates high frequency energy through the walls of the casing.

Fig. 2 shows a diagram of connections by way of example. aTwo indirectly heated transmission valves l3 and ii are connected for short waves in a push-pull arrangement with crossed or noncrossedcoils II and II, current .ot the required .voltage being derived at H from the main.

In the diagram of connections shown in Fig.

3 the valve it constitutes with the oscillating circuit elements it, 20 an oscillator to which there is connected by one pole a radiating element ll. This radiating element It consists preferably of a metal plate, wire fabric, or the like, and is housed within the totally enclosed casing; this plate can be shaped, for example, according to the shape of the. bottom or of the top of the casing. The sender used can also be constructed, in a known manner, as a quartzcontrolled valve sender.

The new electro-therapeutic apparatus has the advantage that no injury to health can be caused by mistakes in use, so that the set, which can be put in operation, for example, like a hot pad, by plugging into any current main, can be safely Operated by any novice, Since the set is completely insulated, has no outside treatment electrodes, and generates but very low outputs, the possibility of inflicting burns is efiectually precluded. Disturbances of wireless reception I the set from batteries or accumulators which also :supply current of the requisite voltage for the anode, with the aid of a vibrating or rotary volt- Fig. '7 shows a diagram of connections in which, by wayof example, two dry batteriesof 4 volts each are used for the current. supply, and an inductor 31 with a make-and-= break 38 serves as a current converter. The

batteries are denoted by 38. and the two transmission valves by ill, ll is a resistance, 42 a choke coil, and 43, 44 two condensers. A switch 45 serves for the closing and interruption of, the, battery current circuit. It will be clear without further explanation that a battery or accumulator can also be employed in conjunction with other knownarrangements of coin nections, as a current source for a small capacity sender of the type described. In place of the inductor with make-and-break contacts there can be employed a rotary converter for supplying current of the voltage required for the anodes. i

Figs. 4 and 5 show diagrammatically arrangements by which it is possible to make use. for therapeutic purposes; of the waves transmitted by the various existingbroadcasting stations. it being advisable in this connection. with a view to avoiding disturbances, to employ the wave of the local sender. The current'voltages received from the broadcasting transmitting stationare used for the controlling of an independent wavesenderwhich generates the high frequency alternating field used for the treatment.

In the diagram of-conriections shown in Fig. 4, the high frequency amplifying valves, which are coupled together in any desired manner, are denoted by 2| and 22. 23 and I4 denote the rectifier and the low frequency amplifier, re-

spectively, while 25 indicates the coupling between the terminal high frequency amplifier and the rectifier, ,which coupling takes the form in Fig. 4 of an oscillating circuit coupled by means of a transformer. T the terminals of the oscillating circuit there can then be connected, by means of a suitable line 23, a further amplifier 21 to which latter there is connected the treating circuit 28 arranged to suit the particular needs of the moment.

.Accordlng to a further variation of the invention, the conductors 23 can be connected to the terminals provided on most wireless receiving sets for gramophone record reproduction. These terminals are connected, in all receiving sets, between the grid and the cathode of the rectifier valve, and thus carry .high frequency voltage which can be employed for the operation 01' the therapeutic amplifier in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 5 shows diagrammatically how the leads 23, with the amplifier 21 and treating current circuit 23, can be connected up to the terminals 20 for gramophone record reproduction on the receiver set 20.

In accordance with the invention the energy transmitted from a poweriul sender can be utilived for treatment, by altering at will the distribution of field strength, by means of metallic conductors.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 6, 3| denotes the wave-sender. 32and 34 the conductors, 33 the patient, 35 a irequency-determining tuning element connected to the conductor 32. The shape of the conductors can be varied to any extent. The conductors denoted by 32 are in the form of plates which can also be adapted to coniorm to the shape of certain parts oi the body. The conductors denoted by 34 are designed to carry the weight of the patient, and may form part of a chair, bed, or the like. Fbr thetreatment of certain parts of the body the conductors are suitably shaped for application to or for the supporting of these parts.

'The conductors may consist oi sheet metal, or

metal wire fabric of any kind, or equally, may consist of vessels filled with conductive liquid. In accordance with a particular form of construction of the invention the surface of the conductors is profiled, for example provided with pointed excrescences. As will be clear from the drawings, a number of patients can be treated simultaneously and at varying distances from a single center I.

In the mode of treatment illustrated at I in Fig. 6 there are provided two conductors 32 and to known, for the direct supply of energy to the patient or to electrodes included in the treating circuit, from the wave-sending apparatus. With this arrangement one of the conductors 32 and the conductor 34 are earthed.

In Arrangement 1! the conductor 34, which takes the form of a ground plate, and carries the H taking place by capacitive action in a region de-- termined by the position oithe conductor 32. As

shown in this example, the conductor can also be shaped to conform to any part of the body treated.

In Example V the conductor 32 is likewise connected to a tuning element 35, and the permeation or traversing oi the patient by the waves isagain effected by capacitive action. The conductor 32 can in this case also be earthed.

In Example VI there is provided only one nonearthed ground plate 34.

What I claim is:

1. A short-wave electro-therapeutic apparatus comprising a closed casing, a low power oscillator wholly enclosed in said casing and including a primary oscillatory circuit forming a treatment electrode, said casing consisting, at least at the point adjacent said oscillatory circuit, of a material of high electromagnetic wave permeability, said casing with the oscillator therein being easily transportable and applicable to the part of the patients body to be treated.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the oscillator is extraneously controlled and connected for operation at the proper point with a broadcast receiver in operation, for instance at the terminals of an oscillation circuit coupled between the high frequency amplifier and the rectifier of said receiver.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the said wave-sender is of the radio valve type, and further comprising a totally enclosed casing oi insulating material containing the said wavesender, radiating elements located within the said casing, batteries for the direct supply of heating current to the valves of the said wave-sender, and a transforming device interposed between the said batteries and the anodes oi the said valves.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1 characterized by the fact that the set is mounted so as to be universally adjustable, on a stand.

5. A short wave electro-therapeutic apparatus comprising a relatively thin fiat casing capable of convenient portability and applicable to the part of the patlent's body to be treated, a low power oscillator wholly enclosed in said casing and including a primary oscillatory circuit forming a treatment electrode, said casing consisting, at least at the point adjacent said oscillatory circuit, of a material of high electromagnetic wave permeability, a supporting stand, and means adjustably connecting said casing with said stand, whereby the height and angular position of the casing may be varied.

EUGEN WEISSENBERG. 

